Decision on rail trail slow in coming

Backers frustrated at the Cuomo administration

Backers of a proposed 90-mile biking, hiking and snowmobiling trail following a rail bed through the heart of the Adirondacks are frustrated at the Cuomo administration's slow pace deciding whether to open a review needed to move forward.

At issue is whether to spend millions of dollars on track repairs to extend a scenic railroad or replace the tracks with a multiuse trail on the state-owned corridor from Old Forge to Lake Placid. The departments of transportation and environmental conservation held public hearings and took written comments in September. They said a decision was likely by the end of 2013.

Trail advocates say state Sen. Betty Little is holding things up. She says she'd like to keep the tracks but isn't blocking the decision. Train proponents are pushing a plan for a trail next to the tracks.